Children's Home run by Homes for Support in Cheshire East

Inspection report for children’s home: 2540073 1 Registered provider: Homes for Support Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider runs this home. The home provides care for up to 5 children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted on 14 October 2019. The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2540073 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/07/2025 Full Good 13/08/2024 Full Good 19/03/2024 Full Good 05/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2540073 3

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Summary of findings

The children living here have remained happy and settled for a significant period. One child moved out naturally, in preparation for adulthood. Children have positive experiences living here; they are well prepared to live independently and have plans and aspirations for their future.

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Summary of findings

Staff are committed to providing children with care that is tailored to their needs and keeps them safe. They are dedicated to building positive relationships with children. Staff understand the risks to children and are committed to supporting children therapeutically to reduce those risks.

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Summary of findings

There is strong leadership provided by the manager and deputy manager. Staff enjoy working here, and they feel valued and well supported. New staff receive support through a robust induction and probation period to help them develop the skills and knowledge required.

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Summary of findings

The manager oversees all incidents; however, on one occasion, a missed opportunity to address shortfalls in staff practice could have prevented future incidents. This has now been addressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 3 children have remained settled in the home. One child has been supported to move out of the home to live independently. The move was well planned and in line with the child's wishes and feelings. Staff organised a leaving party. The child spoke highly of the support provided by staff. They said, ‘The staff are the best; they have been there for me.’ The child spoke about happy memories of their time in the home with inspectors.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with children. Children can share their views, wishes and feelings without fear of being judged. Staff take opportunities to have conversations with children that are relevant to children’s lives, including following significant events. However, on one occasion, one child’s record was not written in a child ‑ friendly way and did not support the child to understand their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to understand the importance of education. When there have been attendance difficulties, staff have worked closely with education professionals to develop ways to help children reintegrate into school. Additionally, the manager effectively challenged education professionals regarding a child who had been out of education for a significant period. As a result, a school was identified, and the child has started attending, using a tailored timetable to meet their needs. Inspection report for children's home: 2540073 4 Children's health needs are well met. Staff ensure that they seek appropriate medical attention when children are injured or there are concerns about their mental health. They work effectively with health professionals to ensure that children with additional health needs receive the right support. One child now takes their prescribed medication, which has improved their emotional wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain relationships with family and other important people. Staff have positive relationships with children's families, and parents speak positively about the care their children receive.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Risk management plans are individualised and up to date. The plans identify known vulnerabilities and state clear actions for staff to take to ensure that children are cared for safely and appropriately.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

When children go missing from home, staff take appropriate action. They are proactive in searching for children and work effectively with parents, professionals and the police to ensure that the children are brought home safely and at the earliest opportunity. Staff complete follow-up work with children to explore the reasons that they go missing from home to help reduce the risk.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager oversees all significant incidents and provides evaluations of them. However, on one occasion, the manager did not address shortfalls in staff practice. Additionally, there was a lack of staff curiosity about how the children had left the home, which could have prevented further incidents. Subsequently, incidents of children leaving the home without staff knowledge went unnoticed for several nights. The manager has now identified the shortfalls and put actions in place to prevent it happening again.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been no allegations made against staff in the home. However, staff understand what action to take if an allegation is made about adults caring for the children. When allegations of abuse are made against external professionals, the manager takes swift action. They ensure that the correct procedures are followed, referring to the local authority designated officer and raising a complaint with the external professional body.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff talk to children about risk to help them understand potential consequences and make informed decisions. They openly discuss issues such as substance misuse, risk- taking behaviours and peer relationships, taking into account children's current situations and level of understanding. Staff use external resources and make referrals to external agencies. This means risks have reduced and are well managed. Inspection report for children's home: 2540073 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and appropriately qualified and is supported by a skilled deputy manager. Staff speak highly of the support they receive from managers; they feel valued, listened to and motivated to provide high standards of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly. They are child focused and supported by the in- house therapist. There are discussions about the care children receive and evaluations of any significant incidents. The therapist provides support and advice on how best to respond to children using a therapeutic approach. As a result, any concerns or changes in children's patterns of behaviour are generally well managed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been recent changes to the staff team, including internal promotions and new members joining. The changes in the staff team have been well managed to ensure that there was minimal impact on the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers use a robust recruitment process with all necessary checks being completed. This ensures that adults caring for children are safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has monitoring systems in place. The independent visitor regularly attends the home, and the manager takes any actions to improve care, swiftly addressing any issues affecting children's safety. These are also shared with staff to help them understand how to improve the care they provide to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, supportive and reflective supervision. There is an opportunity for staff to talk openly about their experiences and areas for development. New staff are supported through their six-month probation period. Their progress is regularly reviewed to ensure that they are attending training and developing the knowledge and experience to provide care for children and keep them safe. Inspection report for children's home: 2540073 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the 'Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards'. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they provide evaluative oversight of all incidents that highlight any shortfalls in staff practice, to help prevent and reduce the risk of future incidents. 2 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2540073 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information about discussions with children in a child-friendly manner and in a way that will be helpful to them. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the 'Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards'. Inspection report for children's home: 2540073 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Homes For Support Ltd, Northern House, 3 Kennerleys Lane, Wilmslow SK9 5EQ

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Inspectors

Sarah Probert, Social Care Inspector Sadie Green, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2540073 9 and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services and inspects services for looked- after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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